- Starbucks and Google charged with not paying enough British corporate tax
- Government body that collects taxes denies being soft on multinational firms
- Representatives from Amazon, Google and Starbucks face grilling from government body next week
Google Claims Compliance with Tax Laws
Google France told AFP this week that it had received no such tax claim, and that it complies with tax laws in all the countries in which it operates.
In Britain meanwhile, Business Minister Vince Cable used an interview with The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday to attack multinationals who exploit tax loopholes to reduce their bills.
"At times of hardship, when tens of thousands of British companies are paying their basic tax, to discover that leading multinationals are getting away with it is not acceptable," Cable said.
Osborne, whose Conservatives head a coalition with Cable's Liberal Democrats, is seeking to slash Britain's huge deficit by cutting tens of thousands of civil service jobs and axing certain state benefits.
Corporate Tax Rate Reduced
Osborne earlier this year cut corporation tax -- which is levied on company profits -- to 24% from 26% in a bid to boost jobs and investment in Britain. The government plans to slash it to 22% by 2014.
HMRC, the body responsible for collecting Britain's taxes, has meanwhile defended itself against strong accusations that it is too soft on multinationals.
"I can refute any suggestion that we have been told to go easy on big business," Lin Homer, chief executive of HMRC, told the Public Accounts Committee -- a panel of British lawmakers -- this week.
